


Performance Indicators / Dividends
- YTD Time weighted return: 20.72%
- XIRR since portfolio inception in 2013: 16.22%
- Dividends collected: SGD 4,067.28
- Cum-Dividend:
- Capitaland Mall Trust: SGD 110.96
- Visa Inc: USD 7
Coasting higher
July marks the start of earnings season again. Earnings season is always fun as most of my REITs declare distributions while you get to dive into the results of some of the other companies.
Surprisingly, my personal portfolio coasted higher in spite of gut punch from SingTel post XD. This added about $3k or 2% in portfolio value month on month to settle at $160,557.
Performance
My portfolio value gains comprised of net capital gains of about $2.2k and boosted by about $1k of dividends.
The portfolio counters generally contributed to month on month gains, with significant contributions from my USD counters – Google, Visa, Manulife US REIT and Keppel-KBS US REIT. This phenomenon is a combination of the m-o-m strengthening of the USD against the SGD and share price increases in these counters.
Significant Transactions
No changes were made to the portfolio.
Significant Portfolio News
Significant news relating to my portfolio this month include:
- AIMS APAC REIT
- Capitaland Mall Trust
- Announced a solid set of Q2 results with DPU growing 3.9% year on year. A distribution of 2.92 cents was declared which will go ex-Dividend on 30 July.
- Frasers Logistics and Industrial Trust
- Announced a decent set of Q3 results with AUD DPU rising 3.4%. However, due to continued currency headwinds, SGD DPU fell. This is not a distribution paying quarter.
- Keppel-KBS US REIT
- Announced a great set of Q2 results with 1H DPU of 3 cents beating restated forecast of 2.94 cents. The distribution of 3 US cents has already gone ex-Dividend.
- SingTel
- I attended a rather rowdy 3.5 hr AGM on 23 July where some investors questioned the board about the uncertain future of SingTel. In some cases, they were met with stern responses from Chairman Simon Israel. This may have prompted heavy selling in the days since. Key highlights to follow next week
- Amazon
- Alphabet
- Report an earnings beat while announcing an expanded buyback programme. This culminated in a almost 10% pop in Alphabet’s share price yesterday, which is awesome.
Life updates – My Masters programme
Regular readers will know that I’ll be starting my Masters programme soon. It is something I’m really, really excited about, so allow me to ramble about it here for a bit π
I matriculated in early July, so I’m officially a student again π I’ve been reading through the orientation pack and various materials provided so far. I did some LinkedIn research of my fellow classmates as well π Profiles that I could find come from very varied backgrounds and even included a CFO :O Really looking forward to meeting them in person.
Reading lists and textbooks are also out so I’ll be going down to the SMU bookstore next week to purchase the materials to do some pre-reading. Very kiasu I know lol.
Classes start in mid August. Can’t wait.
Blog updates
Article highlights
Here are some useful articles I’ve written this month:
- FLT to buy 12 properties from sponsor Frasers Property – I dive into the deal and speculate on funding mixes
- Why size matters for REITs – I explain REIT managers’ obsession with growth
- Prime US REIT IPO Highlights – A summary dashboard for the IPO and some insights from an analyst briefing
- SG Open Electricity Market Guide Q3 2019 – Updated with the latest prices
- Valuing SPH – A sum of the parts valuation to see if SPH is worth investing in
More S-REIT Dashboards
This month. my focus has been on releasing S-REIT Dashboards that are low-hanging fruit ie for the US REITs that IPO-ed this year – ARA US Hospitality Trust, Eagle Hospitality Trust and most recently, Prime US REIT. I’m glad to announce that they are now LIVE.
As of now, there are 5 S-REIT Dashboards live:
These dashboards can be accessed above or through the Resources section.
Start Here page refresh preview
Another thing I’ve working on the past month is re-imagining my Start Here page look. Here’s a sneak preview:

Love the bright colours and aesthetic. It’s about half done, so stay tuned next month.
Reader appreciation
I’m always thankful that there are people who see value in my content and subscribe to my blog or like my Facebook page. To the 22 and 13 people who subscribed to my blog and liked my Facebook page respectively since my last update, welcome and hope you learnt something from me. Do feel free to reach out to me via email if you have any queries. I’m no investment guru but I’ll try my best to answer them to the best of my ability π
Past updates:
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
2018 Performance Scorecard
2017 Performance Scorecard
Happy Hunting,
KK
If you love the articles I write, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, InvestingNote, StocksCafe or subscribe to my blog and never miss another article!